Construction machines include those which are used for lifting heavy loads such as in mining or similar operations. Mobile construction machines having a lifting arrangement are known such as wheel loaders or the like. For such applications it is crucial to provide a maximum loading and lifting capacity for the lifting arrangement as this is the main factor affecting the operational efficiency of such construction machines. An operation of construction machines using lifting arrangements includes a loading operation of the material to be lifted at a lower level, a lifting operation for lifting the load to a higher level and an unloading operation e.g. for dumping or unloading the lifted load at the higher level.
In specific applications using a lifting arrangement which is mounted at the front area of mobile construction machines, the lifting capacity is not only limited by the available power driving actuators used for lifting the load. Rather, a weight distribution of such mobile construction machines is a limiting factor restricting the lifting capacity of such lifting arrangements as the mobile construction machine must remain stable in the course of the lifting operation. Consequently, variations of the weight distribution of the mobile construction machines or an increase of the total weight of the machine are considered in order to enhance the lifting capacity of the lifting arrangement. However, such variations in weight distribution or even an increase of the total weight of the mobile construction machine have clearly a negative influence on the drivability and the overall weight of the construction machine. Moreover, drive sources for driving the machine must be designed for such an increased weight of the machine which deteriorates the overall efficiency in view of a specified maximum lifting capacity. The above disadvantages have been accepted previously in order to provide construction machine having the desired lifting capacity.
The material to be loaded is typically loaded on an equipment which is mounted on a front end of a main arm of the lifting arrangement. Thus, the orientation of the equipment tends to be negatively affected by a pivoting movement of the main arm.